Air conditioning unit



NOV. 19, 1940. LATTNER 2,222,080

AIR CONDITIONING UNIT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 10, 1937 INVENTOR. EMERT J. LATTNER BY g g ATTQRNEY.

Nov. 19, 1940. LATTNER 2,222,080

AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Filed Sept. 10, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 magma I INVENTOR. EMERT .1. LATTNER BY W 3249 ATTORNEY.

NOV. 19, 194-0. J LATTNER 2,222,080

AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Filed Sept. 10, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR.

EMERT J LATT/VER Patented Nov. 19,1940

STATES PATENTT QFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to air conditioning apparatus and has particular relation to a means for heating, washing, circulating, humidifying and tempering air.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a compact and efficient air conditioning apparatus.

It is another object of my invention to provide new and improved washing and filtering ap- 10 paratus for air conditioning, an improved arrangement of filtering members and improved means for mounting the washing and filtering members.

Other and further features and objects of the 15 invention will be more apparent to those skilled in the art upon a consideration of the accompanying drawings and following specification, wherein is disclosed a single exemplary embodiment of the invention, with the understanding, 20 however, that such changes may be made therein as fall within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In said drawings: 7 5 Figure 1 is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of a device constructed according to one embodiment of my invention.

Figure 2 is a View, partly in section and partly in end elevation, of a device shown .in Figure 1. 30 Figure 3 is a view in perspective of the cabinet of a device constructed according to one embodiment of my invention.

Figure 4 is a View in perspective of the device shown in Figure l but with portions of the eas- 35 ing removed to show the interior of the device. Figure 5 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a by-pass valve for permitting direct communication between the primary combustion space and the stack, and, 40 Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the motor support for the blower motor.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 1, a device constructed according to a preferred embodiment of my invention is preferably di- 45 vided into three compartments, such as the burner and control compartment H], the warm air compartment II, and the cold air compartment 52. These compartments are formed by means of a rectangular cabinet 13 including floor plates 5014, side walls Hi and H, the top cover l8, and doors l9 and 25, front and rear respectively, the doors being made removable to permit ready access to the interior of the cabinet. The interior of the cabinet is divided oil by a partition 55 22 between the burner compartment l and the warm air compartment H, and a second partition 23 between the warm air compartment l and the cold. air compartment l2.

In the present instance, theoil burner 24 is preferably used for furnishing heat and the blast tube or manifold 26 projects into a combustion chamber 27 with the burner fastened on the outside of a door or closure 28 on the front of the combustion chamber. The closure or door 23 is adapted to be bolted-to the'casing 22 by means of bolts 29, and to the furnace wall or plate 33. The combustion chamber lining, indicated at 3|, is roughly in the form of a drawer, and the inner wall at the burner side of the chamber, as indicated at 32, is formed in a frusto-conical or 1 5 funnel form, with the manifold 26 atthe apex of the funnel. The wall opposite to the burneris a vertical wall, as indicated at 33. Heat insulating material 34 is located between the combustion chamber lining 3| and the plate 28. It is to be noted that, after removing the bolts 29, the entire combustion chamber. may be removed by sliding it out like a drawer, with the oil burner still remaining in place if desired. This feature is of material advantage as it permits ready adjustment and cleaning of the oil burner and combustion chamber. p

The member 31 is a hot water coil of usual construction and this is supported by means of a plate 38 on the front of the partition 22, and the coil projects into the primary combustion space 39 just above the combustion chamber 3!. The lower portion of the primary combustion space or chamber 39 is preferably lined with fire- The furnace casing is brick as indicated at 4!. indicated at '32 and this is a cylindrical member, having a top closure 43 and a bottom closure 43. The casing is adapted to rest on the base 36, and g the base has openings 41 therein to permit warm air to'enter the base of the furnace casing.

I preferably provide. a cylinder 5! leading through the wall 42 of the furnace into the primary combustion space 38. The outer end of this-cylinder is secured to the partition 22 by means of ring 52 and cover ring 53, the outer edge of the cover ring 53 being inclined as indicated at 5A, and being provided with'a cover 56' I held in place by means of a hinge 57. The slope of the ring 53 at 54 is such that the Weight of the cover keeps it closed, but if there is an eX- cess of pressure within chamber 39, the cover will be blown open to relieve the pressure.

The heated products of combustion pass upwardly, as indicated by the arrows, through the primary combustion chamber 39 and when they 55 reach the top of this chamber, they pass into a plurality of radially disposed fiues 58. These fiues are spaced from the outer wall 42, as indicated at 59, and thus afford passageways from all 5 sides of the flues and of the outer wall 42 over which cold air may readily pass and be heated. The heated gases pass downwardly through the flues 58 and enter the chamber 6| at the bottom of the furnace, which chamber may be termed the expansion chamber. Clean-outs are provided at 82 at the lower ends of the fines 5B.

The hot gases then pass upwardly through a channel at 63 as indicated by the arrows. This channel is formed by the partition 64 which is located behind the combustion chamber 3|. If desired, direct communication between the primary combustion space 39 and the channel or conduit 63 is afforded by means of a by-pass 66, and this by-pass is constructed of a base 65 and a rotatable cap 10 having a co-operating'opening (see Figure 1) so that it may be opened, closed or partly closed, however it is adjusted. This by-pass serves several purposes, among which are that it can be adjusted so as to secure maximum efiiciency from the furnace by regulating the temperature of the flue gases and it also serves the purpose of eliminating puffs and pulsations occurring inthe front of the furnace. The gases in the conduit 63 have lost most of their heat by the time they enter this conduit, but are still at a temperature of some four hundred or five hundred degrees. The gases pass on out through the flue 61, as indicated by the arrows and on up through the chimney (not shown). It is to be noted that the flue 61 passes through the cold air chamber l2 and thus affords means for warming the cold air as it passes through this chamber.

The cold air compartment preferably has at 40 least two mechanisms located within it, one being the blower unit 68 of conventional construction supported by the bracket 69 on base l4, and having the discharge conduit projecting through the wall 23 into the chamber 12 sur- 5 rounding the furnace. The rotor of the blower is driven by means of a pulley 13 and belt 14 from the motor 16. The motor 16 is mounted on an arm or platform 11 which is pivotally engaged to a rod 18. The arm 11 may both pivot 50 on this rod 18 and slide on the arm parallel with the blower shaft. This structure is better shown in Figure 6. It is apparent that the motor may be adjusted in a direction parallel to the blower shaft until the belt 14 is in proper align- 55 ment, and furthermore that the weight of the motor 16 acting on the pivot and rod 18 will keep the belt 14 taut. This structure is of material advantage as it permits ready adjustment to suit all of the motor sizes used for driving blowers 60 of this character and furthermore permits the use of different sized pulleys without changing the belt. I

The upper portion of the cold air chamber is preferably provided with wet filters 8| and-dry 65 filters 82. The pair of filters 8| and 82 are placed in opposed inclined position with the upper edges of the filter 8| spaced apart sufficiently that their upper edges define an area approximately that of the cold air intake conduit 83. 70 The partitions 84 close ofi the top of the filter chamber from the tops of the screens 8| to the wall, thus forcing the air passing downward through the inlet 83 to pass through the wet screens 8|. The wet screens 8| rest in a tray 7 86 and any excess moisture from the screens may be drained ofi through the drain 81. Moisture is supplied to the screens through the agency of the conduit 88 controlled by valve 89, the conduit 9|, and the spray nozzle 92. Of course, any other method of supplying water may be employed, as for instance conduits leading directly to the screens.

The dry screens 82 are arranged within the filter chamber in slightly more inclined position than the wet screens 8|. The upper edges of the dry filters 82 rest against the walls of the cabinet, the lower edges being placed adjacent the edges of the pan 86. The air is thus forced to pass through these dry screens as well as the wet screens 8|. The wet screens constitute a means of washing, and filtering the air and imparting moisture to it, while the dry screens constitute means for filtering the air after it has been washed by the wet screens. This structure has advantages of easy control of the humidity and it is easy to secure proper humidity by controlling the amount of water deposited on the wet screens 8| by means of the nozzle 92, the flow of water through the nozzle being controlled by the valve 89 in accordance with the humidity requirements. The large direct particles are removed by the washer filters 8|, thus prolonging the life of the dry filters 82. These dirt particles tend to be flushed into the pan 86 and to be discharged through the drain 81.

The operation of the air-conditioning unit is as follows: The oil burner 24 furnishes combustible fuel to the combustion chamber 21 where the fuel is burned. The gases from the burning fuel pass upwardly through a secondary combustion chamber, heating the walls thereof. The gases then pass downwardly through the flues 58 on the outside of the furnace casing and into an expansion chamber in the bottom of the furnace casing. They are then passed up the back of the furnace casing and through the flue or stack 61, to heat the cold air coming into the unit. The cold air coming into the unit enters at the intake 83 and passes through the wet filters 8|, the dry filters 82, into the blower 88 and is driven forcibly into the furnace chamber The air from the blower passes around the furnace casing 42 and around the lines 58 and then upwardly through the exhaust or hot air shaft 94 into the space to be heated. In passing through the filters 8| the air is properly humidified and a portion of the dirt removed. The air then passes through the filters 82 where dust particles are removed and is then driven forcibly though the system by means of the blower.

Although I have described a specific embodiment of, my invention, it is apparent that modifications may be made by those skilled in the art. Such modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an air conditioning device, a filter chamber open top and bottom, a pair of filter screens in the filter chamber in sloping V position with relation to eachother with the top edges spaced apart to span the opening in the top of the filter chamber and the bottom edges close together, a drain pan for supporting the filter screens at the bottom edges spanning the bottom edges to close off the space at the bottom of the screens and catch any excess water dripping from the screens, a spray nozzle disposed between the screens and within the top opening in the filter chamber positioned to spray water on the inner walls of the screen to moisten the air passing through the screens, and two more filter screens also in sloping relation with respect to each other positioned on opposite sides of the first pair of filter screens with the bottom edges supported by the drain pan and the upper edges resting against the opposite side walls of the filter chamber.

2. In an air conditioning device, a filter chamber open at top and bottom, a pair of filter screens in the filter chamber in V position with relation to each other with the top edges spaced apart to span the opening in the top of the filter chamber and the bottom edges close together so that they may be supported and closed by a common support, means between the screens for depositing water thereon, a drain pan below the screens for catching the excess water, the lower edges of the screens being supported on the drain pan, whereby air entering the filter chamber through the top must fiow through the filter screens and is split apart into two air streams to centralize the air stream and permit the largest available size screen to be used in the chamber, and means for removing water deposited in said pan.

3. In an air conditioning device, a filter chamber open top and bottom, a pair of filter screens in the filter chamber in sloping V position with relation to each other with the top edges spaced apart and the bottom edges close together, a drain pan below the screens and spanning the bottom edges of the screens to close ofi the space at the bottom of the screens and catch any excess water dripping from the screens, the lower edges of the screens being supported by the pan, means for supplying water disposed between the screens within the top opening in the filter chamber and positioned to direct water on the inner faces of the screens to moisten the air passing through the screens, means for removing water deposited in said pan, and bafile plates within the chamber to prevent the passage of air except through the filters.

4. In combination with a warm air furnace having a return air chamber, a return air opening near the top of the chamber, a plurality of wet filters within the chamber having their top edges spaced apart to furnish an open area at least equal to the area of the return air opening, the lower edges of the wet filters being located adjacent each other and within a drain pan, bafile means within the chamber to cause all air passing through the chamber to pass first through the wet filters, other filters of a dry type positioned within the chamber and after the wet type filters, other meansfor baifling the chamber to force all air passing through the wet filters to also pass through the dry filters, a spray nozzle located between the wet filters for flooding the wet filters with water, and means for controlling the spray of water to the spray nozzle in accordance with the amount of humidity required in the air being treated.

EMERT J. LATTNER. 

